The word just makes me smile. When I think of this state, I have warm (and cold) memories of skiing with friends, eating steaming vegetable soup, hiking epic mountain ranges, and gazing at the stars while breathing deeply of cool crisp mountain air.

Currently, I’m in Colorado attending Focus Leadership Institute, a semester long program created to develop and equip Christian leaders for the rest of their lives to effectively show the love of Christ and the truth of the gospel to the world. This picture is taken from the front of the Focus campus and you can see Pike’s Peak in the background.

The people here are phenomenal and I have some crazy (and crazy awesome) roommates. Meet Patrick, Matt, and Jacob. These guys are studs: Matt played college football, when we first arrived Jacob was hand tooling a sheath for a knife made from a buck’s horn, and at least once a day, Patrick bust into some sweet soulful gospel music.

Chris, Matt, Patrick and Jacob

Throughout this semester, I want to post pictures and projects that I get to work on as well as share relevant lessons I’m learning. We have some of the most most genuine, loving, brilliant professors in the world and we have about 70 books on our reading list. I’m just hoping I can soak in and retain half of what we go through.

3 Responses to Focus Leadership Institute

I am an alum from summer 2009 and saw your post from something Jeff Abel posted. First, I want to say I loved your post. I also wanted to tell you that I am praying for y’all! The Lord used my two months at Focus to radically change my life. The Lord absolutely broke me and began to teach me the beauty that He brings from brokenness. One year later, I am still learning from my experience and am thankful daily for it. Let the Lord rock your world and invest in the people around you. My roommates are my absolute best friends and we all live in different states. I will be praying for a radical experience.

Thanks for the encouragement…I truly am excited about this opportunity and I’m just praying that I soak it all in and I’m confident that God will do a might work in and through all of us this semester. Thank you for your prayers, they mean more than you know!